But, did you notice that I was chasing after my 6 year old daughter in dire need of a bathroom?

Did you notice that she was quite close to having an accident?

Did you also notice that, although old enough to wait in the car, I didn’t want to make my older children wait for too long.

In your subtle way of reminding me that I didn’t say ‘thank you’ because you held the door for us, I hope you felt a little bit better about yourself.

I, on the other hand, am truly sorry that I didn’t say thank you. I am sorry that my mind was otherwise occupied with making sure my daughter didn’t have an accident right there in the entrance of the store.

Truly, I am sorry.

I did, in fact, appreciate your kind gesture.

However, I wonder if you’d be so kind in any other similar situation that you may be a bit more forgiving toward a stranger.

As I see it, yes, you did a kind gesture. Yes, I may have appeared to be a rude, unappreciative person.

But, isn’t it a little hypocritical to do a kind gesture only to follow it up with such a snarky response because another may have failed to recognize or, such is my case, was to preoccupied with saving her daughter from embarrassment and the store from having to clean up a mess?